The Roy Stinson Smyres Collection documents the life of a person and his family whose multifaceted ministerial career exemplifies a dedication to United Methodist Church work in the twentieth century. This dedication is well documented through a variety of record types within the collection. Smyres kept an ongoing journal (1914-1990) and date books (1913-1990) that reveal his intimate experiences as a missionary, minister, and family member. The journals from his missionary days discuss the ongoing work of the mission as well as documenting Smyres' trek across West Africa in 1919, as well as other related trips. Additional entries record interviews with missionaries and indigenous people alike. Also included are discourses and reflections on sociology, anthropology, theology, politics, and life in general.

The date books list mundane things such as financial expenditures, appointments, etc. Some of the entries are in shorthand. The correspondence between Roy Smyres and his family, friends, and colleagues are just as illuminating as the journals, date books, and images. Most of these letters were collected by Nell Smyres and were given to Roy after her death.

While in Africa, Smyres made it a point to write home at least once a week whenever possible. Roy saved copies of letters that he wrote home while serving as a missionary to Africa, which is the reason for some duplication from Nell's files. A few letters were written on the back of older ones for economy. His early pen name to his family was Bud. Record types include correspondence, Christmas letters, and postcards. There are a few letters between Roy and Esther's children with each other which due to the lack of volume were incorporated into Roy's sub-series. Roy's earlier letters (1914-1929) contain personal observations on student life at Northwestern, mission work, missionaries, cannibalism, and "frontier justice" in Africa. These letters also document formal and casual reports from the mission field, photography, and hand-drawn diagrams of architectural features of mission buildings in the Congo.

The African travel accounts tell of the dangers of living in the jungle. Family matters are sprinkled throughout the correspondence. Most of the letters are addressed to Smyres' immediate family. Correspondence from 1930 to 1949 focuses on teaching, church work in Ithaca, and the beginning of a cooperative store in Ithaca - the first of its kind in that city. Roy was greatly interested in politics and peace issues.

Smyres' early work for the mission board is discussed here as well. The letters dating from the 1950's and early 1960's revolve around his continued work for the mission board, trips, publishers, and family. Included in the mission board correspondence was his involvement with the Advance Program.

After Smyres' retirement, the correspondence documents voluntary mission work in India, the Vietnam War, and other peace issues. Subjects found in correspondence from 1970 to 1992 document articles that Smyres published, speaking engagements, ministerial activities, work for the Religious News Service, and global trips. Also during this time period family issues are recorded which include the death of his first wife, Esther, and his second marriage to Mary Fraley, and extended family events. There are social and political remarks about Vietnam, peace, The Human Needs and Security Bill of 1984, El Salvador, the Lebanon conflict, opposition to the United States government appointing an ambassador to the Vatican, and the Persian Gulf War. Most of these letters were written to government officials who had a direct influence in these issues. Another aspect of this correspondence involves his photographic commissions and subsequent loans of images to publishers and missionaries.

Esther Smyres' correspondence ranges from 1920 to 1968 with the bulk of the letters dated from 1920 to 1937. Though not as voluminous as Roy's, they do illustrate in some detail the domestic work in a missionary home as well as documenting a spouse's missionary work in the Belgian Congo. There are casual references to African geography and society. Later correspondence documents Esther's work as a school teacher, her various travels, local church work, and family. Another value of Esther's correspondence is that they often fill in points of information that Roy leaves out of his correspondence of the same time. This is especially true during their years on the mission field and ministry in the local church. Most of the correspondence is directed to Mary Hannah Brown Smyres and Nell Smyres. Mary Fraley Smyres correspondence dates from 1972 to 1980 with bulk dates of 1973 to 1975. Most of these letters relate to family events and friends. Nell Smyres incoming and outgoing correspondence documents her early childhood, college life, family news, trips, and theology.

Some of the letters are from Roy and Esther's children and grandchildren, who express their embracing of Pentecostalism and faith healing. The last group of letters is from Roy's parents. Recipients of these letters include their children as well as extended family. Topics include family news, missionary work, spirituality in the church, and theology in general.

Mary's correspondence ranges from 1911 to 1947, with the bulk of the correspondence from 1919. Luther's correspondence dates from 1916 to 1920, with the bulk of the letters from 1919-1920. Family records are general in nature and revolve around four people: Roy, Esther, Nell, and Joan Smyres. Joan was Roy and Esther's daughter-in-law who died of cancer at an early age. Joan's sub-series documents her funeral.

The rest of the material reflects the childhood, marriage, and careers of Esther and Roy. Nell's records contain her Master's Thesis written at Ohio Wesleyan on the expansion of Christianity in Russia. Nell also collected reports written by her nephew, Eugene Stockwell, a missionary in Africa.

The Writings Series contains manuscripts (1917-1990), sermons (1929-1966), prayers (1937-1988), and publications (1939-1987) authored by Roy Smyres. Included in this section are two books that Roy wrote: Thoughts of Chairman Smyres, and his autobiography. Both these volumes were published in the late 1980s. Other publications include articles and photographs. The sermons (1929-1966) illuminate a variety of topics including missions, politics, theology, liturgy, world communion, cooperatives, and stewardship. Formats include radio and children sermons as well as pulpit sermons. Some of the sermons are in shorthand. The prayers relate to the various aspects of Smyres' ministry within the church. Smyres' professional life in the ministry of the church revolved around three sub-series: local church, annual conference, and the General Board of Global Ministries. Local church records contain worship bulletins and miscellaneous church papers. Annual conference records contain reports and ephemera.

The General Board of Global Ministries sub-series documents Smyres' work in DOM Committee material, reports, gift programs, IDOC International records, Advance Program Support Funds, Central America, financial records and journals, treasurer codes, notebooks, and newsletters. Roy created and collected maps that attest to geographic areas that he served or visited. The African maps are of special interest to those researchers whose historical focus is either missions or the Belgian Congo political boundaries during his years as a missionary. The hand-drawn maps are especially enlightening. The largest series in the collection contains Smyres' photographic images. These images are the spotlight of the collection. His photographic abilities and style were sought out by a number of religious organizations. Record types include glass lantern slides, 35 mm slides, negatives, photographs, and contact sheets. Geographic areas include countries from each of the populated continents as well as Oceania.

The images cover a vast array of topics too numerous to list. In some instance's Roy kept log books that identify certain images with corresponding narrative via his unique cataloging system. It should come as no surprise that family images are in abundance as well.

The majority of this collection covers the years the Millers spent in Mexico and Central and South America, and extends to their retirement in California. Correspondence from both of the Millers to their daughter Evelyn ranges from 1915 to the late 1940s. There is also correspondence between George Miller and friends and supporters in the U.S., as well as limited administrative correspondence with church leaders in Panama, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina, and Board of Missions personnel in the U.S. Photographs from the different mission fields make up another large portion of the collection. There also are photographs of the Miller family from the late nineteenth century. The Millers made films and audio tapes of mission work for use in their lectures and presentations in the U.S. These are preserved in collection. The audio tapes are in seven inch reel format. The films are both in original 16mm format and have been copied onto VHS and Beta tapes for viewing. The remainder of the collection is made up of copies of the Miller's various publications, including books and articles, short essays and drafts of published work, as well as collected articles, clippings, newsletters, and essays by other authors on the topic of missions.

The Papers of Anne E. Herbert is a varied collection which contains correspondence, programs, and articles. The correspondence consists of "Dear Friends" letters from 1950-1958 from a variety of missionaries and mission stations. There is a folder of information on mission work in Bolivia that contains articles and correspondence from 1955-1958. An ecumenical chart from 1967 is included. Program materials from the " Twentieth Conference on New and Furloughed Missionaries" held at DePauw University in Indiana from June 14-20, 1956, are part of this collection. There is a copy of an April 1946 report prepared by Frank T. Cartwright entitled Report on the Special Mission to China. A news clipping from the Alta Advocate (Dinuba, California) dated March 28, 1968, contains a biographical sketch of Ann Harder who was associated with Herbert while both were in Hong Kong. Additional miscellaneous unrelated items are also included in this material.

This accession contains two brief letters from White, seven books in Chinese, and one in Arabic. Six of the books are bound with wooden covers with continuous folding pages. There is also a handwritten piece in English entitled "Translation of a Chinese Love Letter."

This collection contains materials related to Virginia M. Atkinson. Included in this collection is correspondence from 1886-1950. This includes outgoing correspondence written by Atkinson between 1886 and 1941, letters addressed to her friends and associations, and birthday greetings received by Atkinson on her eightieth birthday. Many of these letters are from her former students. There is also an address book kept by Atkinson. Personal reminiscences of Atkinson are contained in these papers. This includes remarks about her travel to China from Georgia, conditions in Shanghai, travel in the interior regions of China, and events in Soochow. There are approximately twenty personal accounts of several Chinese individuals who became refugees during the Sino-Japanese Conflict (1938- 1941). Atkinson had some connection to these people, but it is unclear as to whether she interviewed them for an oral history project or recounted their stories or rewrote what she was told by them. Some of the accounts are handwritten, and others are typed. A charity distribution list kept by Atkinson during this time is available. It contains a record of cash receipts from 1938 and a relief fund record from 1941. Other items in this collection include a few documents written in Chinese, an undated speech given by one of Atkinson's pupils, a 1932 news clippings from an unidentified newspaper on the troubles in China, and three small photographs: one of Atkinson in her later years, one of Yui Soo-Lan, and one of an unidentified man. In addition, there is also some biographical material on a student Atkinson sponsored, Katherine Lew. Included are two undated letters written by Lew and some biographical information on her and her husband, Timothy Tingfang Lew.

This collection contains the personal papers of Grace and Charles Braden. Included in this collection are diaries, correspondence, writings, bulletins, publications, photographs and negatives. The original diaries the Bradens began on the day they left to serve as missionaries in Cochabamba, Bolivia, are part of these papers. Charles Braden's diary began on July 27, 1912, and ended on August 28, 1912. Grace Braden's diary began on July 27, 1912, but was kept until October 5, 1912. These diaries have been transcribed into typewritten copy by Grace Braden Gibas. Correspondence written by the Bradens from 1912 to 1919 is included in these papers. Several letters are undated. There are also a few letters received by the Bradens from 1961 to 1970. A folder of mission related materials contains programs from church related activities in Bolivia and Chile, a pictorial listing of missionaries from The Epworth Hearld of November 9, 1912, a student paper written by Charles Braden in 1926, and a report on religion in Chile. There is a folder of writings by Grace Braden. This contains descriptive accounts and notations related to mission work. A list of students interviewed in various colleges regarding missionary service is another part of this collection. This list contains individual names, school affiliation, and date of interview. Most occurred in 1923 and 1924. Also included are church bulletins from 1911-1912 from the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, New York. There is a 1967 copy of The Literary Harvest of a Half-Century, a bibliography of Charles Braden's writings. Braden served as editor of World Christianity, a 1939 copy of this periodical is part of these papers. Additional printed material includes two works in Spanish. One examines the English Methodist Church in Chile, and the other is entitled, "La Expansion Protestante En Chile." This work was written by Cristian Lative d'Epinay and is twenty-seven typed pages. Finally, there are several photographs related to the Bradens. A photographic souvenir booklet from Santiago, Chile, is part of this collection. A series of photographs with a script are located in these papers. There are also twenty-eight black and white photographs. Most have some notations on the back.

This collection contains correspondence and a manuscript related to Faithe Richardson. The correspondence, mostly letters to her family written while Richardson was in India, has been arranged in chronological order and covers the years 1926 to 1946. Those letters used in the manuscript are contained in a separate folder. The manuscript, entitled: "The Story of Faithe as Gleaned from Letters of Faithe Richardson, Missionary, To Family and Friends, 1925-1946 and from Conversations with Her in Her 93rd Year," was written by Mary A. Hulse in 1992. It is 154 pages in length.

The microfilm contains minutes created by the Methodist Episcopal Church Missionary Society Bord of Managers.

This collection contains sermons, manuscripts, correspondence, and biographical material on Elmer Edwin Burtner. The largest part of this collection is sermons which document his ministerial career as a Congregationalist and a Church of the United Brethren in Christ pastor. There are approximately 375 sermons. Most are not dated. The sermons have been grouped by text reference, topic, title, and fragments. Topics that Burtner addressed in his sermons included the Bible, Christians in the world, church work and the nature and criticisms of, communion and Christmas, evangelism, missions, education, youth, interchurch relations, the ministry, pastoral subjects, temperance and prohibition, and World War I. The sermons on the Bible were preached at the College Church in Westerville, Ohio, during the fundamentalist controversy of 1921-1922. They attracted widespread attention in the church.

There are five manuscripts written by Burtner on religious topics. "The Immanence of God" is 112 handwritten pages. "The Problem of Evil" is seventy-one typed pages. Both papers may have been written by Burtner while he was attending school. He also took continuing education classes with N. E. Cornetet at Otterbein College. Burtner wrote three papers for these classes. The topics of these papers are Gideon, Nehemiah, and Hebrews.

The correspondence contains a single letter written in 1914 on prohibition. It is addressed to the "Congregationalist" and discusses the prohibition views of Dr. Washington Gladden. This letter is decidedly for prohibition and against liquor trafficking.

The biographical materials include a marriage certificate, a memorial tribute, and a family photograph. The marriage certificate is from his 1910 marriage to Maude Truxall. The memorial tribute entitled, "Memorial to a Man of God," is sixty pages and contains biographical information, testimonials to his life and work, and sermons by Burtner. It was prepared by a committee of the Wagoner Memorial Bible Class of the United Brethren Church in Westerville, Ohio. Finally, there is a black and white photograph of Burtner and his three brothers, Otto, Weldon, and Luther.

The Jeremiah S. Fitterer Papers contain sermons, addresses, record books, clippings, and correspondence. The bulk of this collection is comprised of approximately 900 sermons which document the preaching career of Fitterer.

The remainder of the papers contains four addresses, two record books, clippings related to topics on which Fitterer preached, and a stewardship appeal. Sermons make up the largest part of this collection, and most are undated. Those with dates also usually contain references to the location where the sermon was preached. A few sermons are in German. Most of the sermons, written on small sheets of paper or note cards, have been grouped by books of the Bible. However, there are three small books of bound sermons and sermonettes.

In addition, there are nine small booklets of sermons on specific topics, including children, the church, Christians, the conference year, missions, tithing, revivals, the Sabbath, temperance, and education. One folder contains incomplete sermons and fragments. Fitterer used many illustrations and examples in his sermons. One folder contains a small book of illustrations. Another folder contains small pieces of paper with notations and inspirational references on them.

The collection contains an index to fifty of the sermons. This index contains a short title and a text reference. Four addresses are contained in this collection. The addresses are titled, "Decision Day," "Before the Liquor League of Ohio," "G.A.R. Memorial Service," and "Socialism." The G.A.R. address was presented at Bettsville, Ohio, in 1904. The address on socialism was given to the Mt. Cory Reunion in 1909. The other two addresses are undated.

Two record books are part of these papers. One is a 1892 pastoral record book which contains a text reference to the sermon preached on Sunday, notations on weather throughout the week, and lists of visitations. At the back of this book, there is a list of expenses. A second record book is an account book from 1892-1893. Dozens of clippings Fitterer accumulated on topics of importance to him are contained in this collection. Many were used in preparation of his sermons, and some were incorporated into them. These clippings are on a variety of topics including temperance, missions, tithing, and the religious aspects of dancing. The clippings are in the form of short articles, poems, and inspirational thoughts. They have been photocopied from the originals due to deterioration. Most have no reference to date or to the newspaper or periodical from which they were taken. The last item in this collection is an undated letter on the topic of stewardship. It is a handwritten form letter from the Board of Officials of the Evangelical Church to church members regarding financial contributions to the church.